On Pittsburgh

My desire to take pictures in the last 2 days has been thwarted by Mother Nature. My desire to take pictures in the last 36 days has been thwarted by my lack of a working camera (a deficiency which has since been rectified) and my own laziness (something that I try to correct but seriously 22 years of momentum is hard to reverse). Okay so I might have lied a bit, I haven't been really trying to correct the latter problem but I would like to, which counts for precisely nothing. Whatever.

I do have a few things to say on Pittsburgh though. I always have something to say after all.

At its heart Pittsburgh is a town. Calling it a city disgraces the word and disgraces Pittsburgh itself. That isn't a bad thing, in fact in many respects it is good. The city part of it, however, is quite strange. Downtown Pittsburgh, where all the big buildings are, is the cleanest major downtown that I have ever seen. This has nothing to do with the diligence of Pittsburgh's government, it instead has everything to do with the lack of people who live downtown. There is nothing to do there, so no one lives there. No one lives there, so no businesses set up shop. When I went to the casino on Saturdays and Sundays it was incredibly eerie to see how deserted it was down there. During the week it is plenty busy with people going to and from work at places like PNC, yet on the weekend it is deserted. I went to the casino on Saturday and the Qdoba/Chipotle (I can't remember which) was closed...at 3pm...on a Saturday. Like I said, strange.

Everyone lives in the neighborhoods that surround the downtown and stretch out for quite a while. Each of them have their own distinct flavor. Oakland is the college student part, South Side is the bar district with more bars/whatever^2 than anywhere else in the world, Squirrel Hill is the Jewish part, Lawrenceville is hipster central etc.

It's actually quite a beautiful place in terms of landscape and such. The whole city lies in a valley with hills/mountains surrounding it. Through this valley run three different rivers. Standing in front of the casino/Heinz field at night and looking out over the river into downtown Pittsburgh and up at the surrounding hills is fairly breathtaking. Something I regret not exploring further.

Much of the shittier parts are also built in such strange ways. I have climbed more shady stairs/walkways than anywhere besides a medieval Spanish town. I find myself fascinated by decaying urban landscapes and the secrets that these tiny warrens and untrod streets may contain. It's mindboggling to me that things can disappear from human knowledge only to reappear years later, even if that knowledge is as something as small as a room once constructed or a track once built.

And finally, I must say something about the people. On the whole I found the people nice if a bit strange with their "pop" and "gumbands". I also encountered far more close minded and bigoted people than I am used to. For all that, there are good people everywhere.

From Andre and Bill at the local bar to some of the dealers at Rivers with whom I discussed life and with whom I conspired to go into business with to my brother and his roommates and friends, I have met so many awesome and cool people. It is sad to think that many of them I will never see again. This is definitely the greatest drawback to the life that I choose to live, it is so hard to develop friendships knowing that in a short time I will feel the need to wander or the desire for something else. Still, I am all the better for the people I have met and that makes it worth it. Until we meet again, it has been fun, I will probably try and pass through for a few days on my way west or maybe on my way east from a western journey.

And with that, my time in Pittsburgh is at an end. Atlantic City is next. Just another day living the dream.